Hi! We are first time visitors to this part of the country and want to see as much as possible but not so much that my husband freaks out with all the driving and ferries. We both like walking around and exploring cities, but also want to experience all the natural beauty of the mountains and the Pacific. However, we are not backpackers or serious hikers.

We are flying into Seattle the last week of August (Sat-Sun) and have 8 nights. I am planning on spending the first two nights in Seattle. After that, I am thinking of driving to Vancouver for 2 nights, using one of those days to visit Whistler. Then considering Vancouver Island for 3 nights (via ferry from somewhere near Vancouver) and then spending the last night in Seattle for the flight home on Sunday.

Am I going to be sorry that we didn't visit GNP? From what I have read, it doesn't seem like a park that you can just drive through and enjoy the sights from your car or take walks during day trips. I am hoping that 3 days on Vancouver Island will make up for not seeing the park. Is three days too much for Vancouver Island? We would both like to take a whale watching trip while we are there.

Does this sound like a reasonable schedule? If we decide to take the ferry to Vancouver Island from Washington and stay in Vancouver at the end of our trip, how long would you estimate the trip to Seattle's airport from Vancouver would take? I would like to only book 3 places to stay but don't want to have a problem making our flight. We leave Sunday from Seattle at l1:30 a.m.


Sorry for all the questions but there is so much to see and I want to make the most of our time! Thank you in advance for all your suggestions/tips. I always get the best advice from this website. Lori

You are right to be concerned about travel time. Many posters here think these places look just a hop away on a map. Fire up mapquest to look at driving times, and start factoring these into your itinerary. Mapquest times do not factor in border waits or ferry waits. Whatever you do, plan so that you are doing neither over the Labour Day weekend.
GNP? Glacier National Park? Check mapquest and forgetaboutit.

LOL ...Glacier National Park....That would take up a lot of our time!! I need to stop drinking wine while I am planning trips. I meant Olympic National Park....

If you drive from Seattle to Port Angeles through the Olympic National Park, the scenery is more pleasant than from Seattle to Vancouver, but again, time.
The Coho only sails three maybe four times a day. Reservations are mandatory at that time of year.
The sail from Tsawassen to Swartz bay is more scenic than the sail from Port Angeles to Victoria except for the last 20 minutes.
On the Coho, you actually sail past the breakwater into Victoria's inner harbour. I can hear from the ooos on the deck that this is stunning for the first time. You approach the same way the origional ships did.

Where on Vancouver Island are you thinking of visiting? It's a huge island (close to 300 miles long) that could take weeks to explore properly. So no, 3 days isn't too much, it's barely a drop in the bucket. But if you mean 3 days in Victoria (which is at the southern tip of the island) then I'd take at least a night away from there to stay in the Port Angeles area and at least see a couple highlights of the park on your way back to Seattle. The Victoria area, nice as it is, is no subsitute for ONP. Tofino (on the far west coast of the island) might be but that's a 5 hour trip from either Vancouver or Victoria and 8 plus hours from Seattle so I don't think you have time to include it with just 8 days.

And FWIW, you'd have to leave Vancouver by 5:30 AM to make an 11:30 flight from Seatac comfortably--allow 4-4.5 hours for the trip to be on the safe side with crossing the border on a holiday weekend. That early you should be ok but you never know. I'd advocate going in a counter-clockwise circle (Seattle/Vancouver/Victoria) then spending that last night on the Peninsula, then driving the 2.5 hours from there to Seatac.

Thank you for the information. I really appreciate the input about the ferry schedules and driving times on Vancouver Island. There are so many areas that I want to see ....... I guess I needed more than 8 days!

The counter-clockwise idea might work better for us so we could end up closer to Seattle on our last night I will keep reading my guide books and looking at my maps. I don't want to spend our entire week driving but it would be a shame to be so close to all these wonderful places I have read about for years and not see them. Lori

Think of a circle.

Seattle to tohe Olympic Peninsula and ferry to Vancouver Island, then ferry to the mainland, and then drive south back to Seattle.

If this was me (I've done this several times) I'd check if there are still tours of the Boeing factory north of Seattle, and work that into the schedule.

And I'd pay some attention to eating; look for places with exceptional seafood and, in Vancouver, fruit and vegetables.

BAK

I suggested the circle in reverse (going to Vancouver first)because the lines/wait coming back into WA from BC are almost always much much longer than going into BC from WA...at least that's been my experience and I would imagine it will be worse this year with the ongoing construction. Plus it's easier to get from the Peninsula to Seatac for the OP's flight on the last day.

You claim you're only "considering" Vancouver Island for 3 days... I think the most sensible course of action for you is to SKIP Vancouver Island, and save the ferry logistics and timing, and see a lot more in both Seattle and Vancouver.


"Two nights" in Vancouver with a side-trip to Whistler on one of the days isn't doing justice to Vancouver.

Add perhaps 2 more nights in Vancouver and maybe a side trip from Seattle to Mount Rainier, Mount St. Helens, or Olympic N.P. and/or the Pacific coast.

Save Vancouver Island for folks who HAVE done Seattle and Vancouver properly in the past.

Hope this inspires you.